It is customary to use plates which have cast lead letters on them when X-ray films are exposed. For example, it is difficult to tell from an X-ray whether the left-hand or the right-hand, for example, is being X-rayed, and it often desirable to have other information such as the X-ray operator initials appear on the X-ray. Typical X-ray marking arrangements which have been proposed heretofore are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,071,912; 3,518,428 and 4,121,108. In general, solid lead letters have been used, with the attendant disadvantages of requiring the handling and casting of molten lead when unusual marking requirements arise. In one patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,428, lead powder mixed with water is employed to form the letters, but in case of slight damage of the unit, leakage of the paste would occur with attendant inconvenience. In addition, most markers which have been proposed up to the present time have employed letters which are substantially rectangular in their cross-sectional configuration. In many cases, the markers are arranged so that the letters are spaced a substantial distance from the film. While such markers were adequate for X-ray techniques in which the X-rays were directed at a single angular orientation with respect to the film, they tend to produce blurred or fuzzy indications when employed in marking films where modern techniques using different angles of incidence of the X-rays on the film, such as tomography, are employed.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a universal X-ray film marker which may be employed both for normal X-ray techniques and also for techniques in which the angle of incidence of the X-rays is changed in the course of an exposure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a convenient and inexpensive technique for forming X-rays markers without the need for casting lead.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a X-ray marker which presents a good visual appearance, is solidly constructed, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture with any desired indicia.